does he hear us??

[shelliemacs]

I have been praying non stop now. I pray all different ways thinking I am praying wrong or not praying hard enough or not doing this or that right. My mom is on both chemo and radiation now at the same time, the side effects are awful. She says she is tired of it all and wants to stop. I got mad at her, but mostly I got mad at god.

I yell now when I am praying. If he is real and can really hear all prayers why isn't he healing her and all of the people here. What is it we have to do or say to make our prayers answered. I dont have his time to wait for my prayer to be answered I only have whats left of her time.

She is so frail looking now and IF he is real why cant he see that. why would he make her suffer like she is. why cant he just reach down from heaven and touch her and the cancer is gone. I was raised catholic and told all things are possible through him....WELL what is he waiting for...WHY WHY WHY is he not healing her. IS HE EVEN REAL AT ALL!!!!!! I shouted last night that I would completely loose all faith and never believe in him again if she dies cause he is the all mighty savior, well save her then.

I dont mean to offend anyone, I am just desperate.

[Terrie]

Shelly -

I prayed very hard that I might have some words of wisdom to offer you this a.m. I am certainly less qualified than a lot of people I could think of - people that have mountains of experience or know scripture off the tip of their tongue. I only know this - I have seen many answers to prayers myself - and they didn't always come when I expected them or felt I needed them - but they came.

You are in a tough place right now watching your Mom go through this - my husband was there in the last 9 months. I think that is ten times harder than actually going through the cancer. You have every right to be angry - VENT!! Cancer really does S*CK!!

I wasn't ready to leave my four kids, or my husband of 19 years - THIS WASN'T FAIR!!! I did try to remind myself that no matter how miserable I was there was someone suffering with much more than me. There were children with cancer - elderly - people with no support. God didn't give me this cancer, he did, however, open my eyes to LIFE and how live THROUGH it.

God not only is REAL - he's standing right there beside you right now, as my sister would say, "waiting to carry you through this". I will believe FOR you right now, if that's OK and will pray with all my heart so that maybe a little of weight is lifted. You just keep taking good care of MOM, I know you will.

Terrie

[shelliemacs]

Terrie,

Thank you. I .... I ..... Thank you. I could use the help right now.

[Don Wood]

Yes, God hears all our prayers, no matter how, where or when we present them. I believe He does answer them all; it is just in His way and His time not necessarily my way and my time. I don't think there can ever be too many prayers. Right, God? Don

[LindaMRG]

Hi Shelly

I am praying all the time too. Someone said here on this board once, sometimes the answer is "yes" and sometimes it is "wait". So I am waiting. God has always answered my prayers before, sometimes not the way I wanted but I found the way that he did. My father had non hodgkins lymphoma twice, and of course each time we prayed that it wasnt that. But, he got through it both times, even did well with a stem cell transplant. Okay, then this. Now he has lung cancer. He's such a GOOD man! He's been through so much!!! I am offering up all this waiting, crying, and worrying for the souls in purgatory, so it will have meaning and purpose.

Im praying for you and your mother tonight, Shelley, and if you want to email me, I have prayers and novenas that I say, that I would be happy to share.

Love,

Linda

my WONDERFUL father was dx with lung cancer last week

[kimblanchard]

God DOES answer prayers, but I don't know the whys and wherefores. I've had a number of prayers answered in my lifetime - we're talking things that weren't possible becoming possible and happening(!)....and folks tell me it's coincidence, but after several , I kind of think they are wrong, it's more than coincidence.

I don't know why or how God decides to do things or not to do things - I don't want to think how I would feel if my prayers WEREN'T answered - to see the cancer come back and take over would cause me a great deal of difficulty in understanding why - but to doubt His existence - I'm not sure I ever could do that, but I also hope I never have to be tested on that, either.

I hope and pray He will deliver me from the cancer. I hope and pray He will allow me to live years enough to raise my children.

If He doesn't protect me - if He doesn't heal me - if He lets me die - then it is more than likely because that's what I deserve. I don't DESERVE to be healed or protected - If He doesn't help me, it's because of my own wrongdoing and misguided doings. That's sad, but it's the truth. I can cry and mourn for myself and my life, but I can't do a thing about it. I am completely powerless.

If I AM delivered from the cancer - If I go on to live years and years - it is not because of anything I can do or did - it is because He has allowed it. I'm not sure what I can do - is there anything I can do to please God somehow - something that would help in Him deciding to let me live......something worthwhile, something which would bring glory to His name --- ?

I want to do good. I want to do something worthwhile and pleasing to God - but you know what? I always end up getting things WRONG and doing things I shouldn't anyway - maybe He will be merciful and let me live long enough to get things right and quit doing so much wrong -

At this point though, I am alive. My cancer was found 18 months ago and it was very small at that time, hadn't spread. I believe 100% with all my heart that it was found because God made it happen that way - so that it could be found and taken away.........so that I would live to raise my children. My prayer had been for months and months before I ever knew I had cancer - my prayer had been to let me live to raise my children.

I think this was all an answer to my prayers, though it seemed awful hard there for a while.

Of course, I might be wrong. The finding of the cancer might not have been an answer to my prayers - it might work out that it claims other parts of body and it takes me out - in which case, I deserved it. I do, I really do deserve it - I just hope God will be merciful and rescue me, even though I deserve otherwise.

The finding of the cancer was either an answer to my prayers or else it was the beginning of my damnation. I pray God will be very merciful with me.

I have a theory - which I guess is just my opinion - but I have a theory that maybe God is a little closer to us and our prayers on the Sabbath. It was important enough that He blessed that day, sanctified it, I think maybe - it's a special day, I think , and I think maybe He'll listen more on that day than any other. Of course, I don't know anything for sure.

*sigh* Some churches say if we aren't healed, it is because we didn't believe, or believe enough. Oh, I believe - I believe! But that brings to mind another prayer found in the Bible ,somewhere, I forget where...."I believe......but help thou my unbelief" - or something on that order - I say that prayer sometimes, too.

I am going to do my utmost to get it together before sundown on Friday this week and really OBSERVE the Sabbath like I should - it seems like every time Sabbath comes, I find that I need to do "just a couple loads of laundry" or "get the ironing out of the way tonight"......"just gotta' get the front yard finished..." and so on ...I need to get that stuff out of the way beFORE it gets here, and really focus on worship and prayer! That is a special day - a day when God is close, I think. I ask daily for God to take care of me, protect me, deliver me from disease, and I prayed that beFORE the cancer showed up - but I ask also on Sabbath as it is a special day, and I think He might be close to hear -

I have no faith in doctors doing anything with this - If I am delivered of this disease, it is because God has willed it. It is under His control - my life isn't mine, it belongs to Him, whatever He decides. I just hope and pray He'll let me stay. I'm terrified of ending up in Hell.

[Connie B]

Dear Shelly,

Well, my thoughts are pretty much the same as what Don has shared, the only thing I would add to his wonderful comment is, ARE WE LISTENING??

Sometimes we don't always pay attention or listen when he answers our prayers. I guess we need to PAY ATTENTION!

Warm and Gentle Hugs,

[kimblanchard]

Janet, never think you "deserve" this or death. No one deserves this. I have always thought that we have a destiny to fulfill on this earth. We may never what it is, why, or when we complete our mission here. I just feel that we do not die until it is truly "our time" to go. The only true thing we can do is to love our families, friends, all those around us and live the best we can. We are not, will never be perfect. But God doesn't expect perfection. I just try to acknowledge the good and or bad I do each day (like when I take his name in vain and am really angry at the deal I got) in life. I try to remember it could always be worse. I am praying for you. May you raise those kids until they are 50 !!! Have a passal of grandchildren. Wishing all the best for you.